'It was crazy': Explosion engulfs semi in collision that closed Trans-Canada for hours
CBC News | Posted: July 6, 2017 2:12 PM | Last Updated: July 6, 2017
One man is dead after a collision between two semi-trucks west of Calgary
One man is dead after a fatal crash that closed lanes on the Trans-Canada Highway just east of Canmore, Alta.
Just after 12 a.m. Thursday, Nakoda Ambulance Service and Canmore EMS were called to the eastbound lanes of Highway 1 between Dead Man's Flats and Highway 1X for reports of a collision.
RCMP said a semi-truck was heading eastbound when it struck another semi parked on the side of the road near the Lac Des Arcs exit causing one of the vehicles to catch fire.
EMS spokesperson Stuart Brideaux said the male driver of the stationary semi was declared dead at the scene.
Shubir Shaikh was driving alongside the moving semi on his way home to Calgary from Vancouver when he witnessed the crash. Shaikh said his vehicle was also hit in the collision, forcing him into the ditch and into the westbound lanes of the highway.
He saw the moving semi burst into flames.
"It was crazy, the explosion was so loud," Shaikh said. "Like, I didn't realize a vehicle could actually explode like that. It was so big that I felt the heat through my windows. It was that crazy."
A male passenger of the stationary semi in his 40s and the male driver of the other semi, a man in his 30s, were injured in the crash. Both men were taken to the Foothills Medical Centre in serious, but non-life threatening condition.
Brideaux said a STARS air ambulance was placed on stand-by but was not required to transport the injured men.
Following the crash, the Trans-Canada Highway was closed in both directions for several hours. By 9 a.m., it had fully reopened.
RCMP are still investigating what led to the collision.
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